


Rolling in the Deep

by SilverLynxx



Series: Rush Prompt Fics [12]
Category: Rush (2013)
Genre: Attempt at profound dialogue, Gen, M/M, Mild Profanity, Prompt Fic, music meme, music tag
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-05
Updated: 2015-02-05
Packaged: 2018-03-10 15:20:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 637
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3295223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverLynxx/pseuds/SilverLynxx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“<i>Don’t go to men who are willing to kill themselves driving in circles looking for normality.</i> I said that to Suzy once, and I have a theory.”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Rolling in the Deep

**Author's Note:**

> Prompted by [Illegaile](http://illegaile.tumblr.com/) on Tumblr, 11 songs skipped on my ipod.

Niki is standing against a chain-link fence beside the track when James finds him. The rain that’s falling is so fine it’s like mist and his hair is suffering for it. He runs a hand through his damp rats-tails and sidles up beside Niki who is overlooking an abandoned car that had spun off earlier. No causalities, thankfully, just a bit of a fright.

He makes note of Niki’s solemn demeanour and the way he’s sucking on his teeth. Like he does when he’s particularly agitated, but not enough so to fidget like James was inclined to.

“I would ease up on the pedal there; I’m starting to smell smoke.”

He can’t help his grin when Niki’s lip quirks up with amusement and he acknowledges the Brit’s presence for the first time. But rather than address James in return, Niki continues to observe the car that a recovery vehicle has now come to collect.

James shifts his weight from one foot to the other, but otherwise he waits patiently for Niki to gather his thoughts or give him a signal to leave.

“I always ask myself, why do I do this? I have no desire to give this up of course, the racing, but I have never been able to give myself an answer for why I stay. With all the risks, after the Nurburgring…”

James places a cigarette between his lips with one hand and lights it with the other, then tucks his hand away into his pocket.

“We’ve got to find our normality somewhere.”

“What about your knights and nobility?” Niki questions with only a hint of mockery. Yet there is a distinct edge of curiosity. James smiles around the butt of his cigarette and ignores the bait.

“ _Don’t go to men who are willing to kill themselves driving in circles looking for normality_. I said that to Suzy once, and I have a theory.”

“Oh? Enlighten me.”

“We, Ratty, are not normal men. We don’t fit into that ‘everyday-man routine’; wake up, go to work, sit and piss about at a desk for hours, go home, tuck the kids into bed. And then do it all again. Sounds fucking awful doesn’t it?”

Niki’s smirk matches James’ before the blond looks thoughtful again.

“We don’t fit into that mould, that ‘normality’, so we have to have our own. And this,” he gestures with his hand, his smoke held between his fingers, to the track before them and the car being towed away. “This, Niki darling, is where we gather for it.”

Niki’s eyes flick left and right, taking in the track and the sombre grey skies, the place he felt most alive and terrified, though he would never admit the latter out loud again.

“So you’re saying we are just trying to find a purpose, we’re trying to be normal?” Niki’s frown voices his displeasure at the concept.

“No, Niki, not at all,” James replied with a quiet chuckle. “We’re not trying to define ourselves by chasing some obscure notion of uniformity; _we_ are defining _normality_ by doing what we’re driven to do. We are making our own.”

Niki blinks slowly and angles his head towards the Brit for the first time, unable to mask the flicker of surprise at such a profound outlook he had not come to expect from James.

“That was… quite deep,” he acknowledged.

James nods sagely and takes a long, deep drag from his cigarette. “So deep Adele’s rolling in it.”

Niki stares blankly until James’ composure cracks and he chokes on both his laughter and his fag. The Austrian driver lets out an annoyed sound and declares James’ an asshole, and then whacks the still giggling man-child with his hat for good measure.

But in the end, they’re both gripping the fence for support as they double over laughing.


End file.
